Mezzoni the Brigand — page 84: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

76 _ " -‘MEZZONI THE BRIGAND. ‘ movement of the lady whom he had just seen quit- ting the Corrello palace. It was very odd. He therefore kept his eye upon the lady until, to his profound amazement, he saw her, after hastening with all possible speed, finally enter his own doors. Could it be his wife whom he had thus detected stealing from the gates of that notorious gambler? Was hein his right senses? he asked himself. He had never suspected his wife of disloyalty since, ten years and more ago, he had led her, a mere girl, to the sacred marriage altar. It is true that this mar- riage, like nine-tenths of those which take place among his class of society, had been one of mutual convenience between her parents and himself, the lady’s predilections being quite a secondary con- sideration in the affair. She had never pretended to love the count. In- deed, she had scarcely seen him twice when she was informed by her mother of the proposed al- liance. She was a woman, and therefore was to be married; she belonged to a titled family, and there- fore must marry in her own rank; the family were poor, therefore she must make a rich connection. This was the whole story. Count Amadeo rushed after his wife, in a frame of mind which rendered him for the moment quite frantic with rage. He was too much aman of the world, however, to desire any publicity as to his do-' mestic relations. He did not forget, on this trying occasion, that he was comparatively an old man, and that his wife was young enough to be his daugh- ter, a feature which the gossips were always sure to seize upon. He even paused, excited as he was, to anticipate the scandal which any indiscretion on his part would ’ saa comicbooks.com —